A BILL to repeal §3-3-3a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended; to amend and reenact §3-1-9, §3-1-21, §3-1-31, §3-1-34, §3-1-35 and §3-1-50 of said code; to amend and reenact §3-3-1, §3-3-2, §3-3-2b, §3-3-3, §3-3-4, §3-3-5, §3-3-5a, §3-3-5b
and §3-3-6 of said code; to amend and reenact §3-5-7,§3-5-13a,
§3-5-21, §3-5-23 and §3-5-24 of said code; to amend and
reenact §3-6-4a of said code; to amend and reenact §3-8-1a and
§3-8-5a of said code; to amend and reenact §3-9-6 of said
code; to amend and reenact §8-5-14 of said code; and to amend
and reenact §59-3-3 of said code, all relating to the state
election code; eliminating obsolete and outdated language;
reducing the days for early voting in person from twenty to
thirteen; allowing Saturday early voting in all elections;
clarifying that candidates must be a member of political party
for sixty days prior to filing; clarifying the authority for
persons to lawfully assist voters; bringing state law into
compliance with federal requirements; clarifying persons
eligible to receive absentee ballots; providing that
independent and unaffiliated voters may receive party ballots
if party allows participation in the primary; requiring all
health-related information provided in connection with
absentee voting is protected under the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996; waiving certain
witness requirements if ballot provided electronically;
clarifying current municipal election polling hours of
operation; authorizing absentee ballot applications may be
completed by handwriting or typing; clarifying procedures for
federal postcard registration and absentee ballot requests;
providing for federal write-in absentee ballots; revising
ballot requirements relating to independent voters; providing
that county clerk will submit ballot information to the
Secretary of State after random drawing for ballot position;
providing that offices filled by voters of more than one
county must file certificate of announcement with the
Secretary of State; providing certificates of announcement of
every office to be submitted no later than the forty-ninth day
before the election; providing definitions; clarifying persons
who may be present during election; and clarifying penalties.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That §3-3-3a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be repealed; that §3-1-9, §3-1-21, §3-1-31, §3-1-34, §3-1-35 and
§3-1-50 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §3-3-1, §3-3-2,
§3-3-2b, §3-3-3, §3-3-4, §3-3-5, §3-3-5a, §3-3-5b and §3-3-6 of
said code be amended and reenacted; that §3-5-7,§3-5-13a, §3-5-21,
§3-5-23 and §3-5-24 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §3-6-4a of said code be amended and reenacted; that §3-8-1a and §3-8-5a of said code be amended and reenacted; that §3-9-6 of said code
be amended and reenacted; that §8-5-14 of said code be amended and
reenacted; and that §59-3-3 of said code be amend and reenacted,
all to read as follows:

CHAPTER 3. ELECTIONS.

ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS.

§3-1-9. Political party committees; how composed; organization.

(a) Every fourth year at the primary election, the voters of
each political party in each state senatorial district shall elect
four members consisting of two male members and two female members
of the state executive committee of the party. In state senatorial
districts containing two or more counties, not more than two
elected committee members shall be residents of the same county:
Provided, That at each election the votes shall be tallied from
highest to lowest without regard to gender or county of residence.
The two candidates with the highest votes shall be elected first
and the other candidates shall be qualified based on vote tallies,
gender and county of residence. Upon completion of the canvass,
the clerk of the county commission from each county shall send the
results of the election of members of each state executive
committee and certificates of announcement, if any, to the
Secretary of State. Upon certification of the election results,
the Secretary of State shall make known to each state executive
committee the members elected to such committee and the vacancies,
if any. The committee, when convened and organized as herein
provided, shall appoint three additional members of the committee
from the state at large which shall constitute the entire voting
membership of the state executive committee. Provided, however,That ifIf it chooses to do so, the committee may, by motion or
resolution and in accordance with party rules, may expand the
voting membership of the committee. When senatorial districts are
realigned following a decennial census, members of the state
executive committee previously elected or appointed shall continue
in office until the expiration of their terms. Appointments made
to fill vacancies on the committee until the next election of
executive committee members shall be selected from the previously
established districts. At the first election of executive
committee members following the realignment of senatorial
districts, members shall be elected from the newly established
districts.

(b) At the primary election, the voters of each political
party in each county shall elect one male and one female member of
the party's executive committee of the congressional district, of
the state senatorial district and of the delegate district in which
the county is situated if the county is situated in a multicounty
state senatorial or delegate district. Upon completion of the
canvass, the clerk of the county commission from each county shall
send the results of the election of members of each congressional
district, state senatorial district and delegate district executive
committee of each party to the Secretary of State. Upon
certification of the election results, the Secretary of State shall
make known to each state executive committee the members elected to
each congressional district, state senatorial district and delegate
district executive committee and the vacancies, if any. Upon
receipt, the state executive committee shall make known any
vacancies to the applicable county executive committee for the
purpose of filling said vacancies as provided in subsection (f) of
this section. When districts are realigned following a decennial
census, members of an executive committee previously elected in a
county to represent that county in a congressional or multicounty
senatorial or delegate district executive committee shall continue
to represent that county in the appropriate newly constituted
multicounty district until the expiration of their terms.
Provided, That theThe county executive committee of the political
party shall determine which previously elected members will
represent the county if the number of multicounty state senatorial
or delegate districts in the county is decreased and shall appoint
members to complete the remainder of the term if the number of
districts is increased.

(c) At the same time the voters of the county in each
magisterial district or executive committee district, as the case
may be, shall elect one male and one female member of the party's
county executive committee except that in counties having three
executive committee districts, there shall be elected two male and
two female members of the party's executive committee from each
magisterial or executive committee district. Upon completion of
the canvass, the clerk of the county commission from each county
shall send the results of the election of members of the county
executive committee of each party along with the certificates of
announcement to the Secretary of State. Upon certification of the
election results, the Secretary of State shall make known to each
state executive committee the members elected to the county
committee and the vacancies, if any. Upon receipt, the state
executive committee shall make known any vacancies to the
applicable county executive committee for the purpose of filling
said vacancies as provided in subsection (f) of this section.

(d) For the purpose of complying with the provisions of this
section, the county commission shall create the executive committee
districts. The districts shall not be fewer than the number of
magisterial districts in the county nor shall they exceed in number
the following: Forty for counties having a population of one
hundred thousand persons or more; thirty for counties having a
population of fifty thousand to one hundred thousand; twenty for
counties having a population of twenty thousand to fifty thousand;
and the districts in counties having a population of less than
twenty thousand persons shall be coextensive with the magisterial
districts.

(e) The executive committee districts shall be as nearly equal
in population as practicable and shall each be composed of compact,
contiguous territory. The county commissions shall change the
territorial boundaries of the districts as required by the increase
or decrease in the population of the districts as determined by a
decennial census. The changes must be made within two years
following the census.

(f) All members of executive committees, selected for each
political division as herein provided, shall reside within the
county or district from which chosen. The term of office of all
members of executive committees elected at the primary election in
the year two thousand ten will begin on the first day of July,
following the primary election and continue for four years
thereafter, except as provided in subsection (g) of this section.
Vacancies in the state executive committee shall be filled by the
members of the committee for the unexpired term. Vacancies in the
party's executive committee of a congressional district, state
senatorial district, delegate district or county shall be filled by
the party's executive committee of the county in which the vacancy
exists for the unexpired term.

(g) As soon as possible after the certification of the
election of the new executive committees, as herein provided, the
newly elected executive committee shall convene an organizational
meeting within their respective political divisions, on the call of
the chair of the corresponding outgoing executive committee or by
any member of the new executive committee in the event there is no
corresponding outgoing executive committee. During the first
meeting the new executive committee shall select a chair, a
treasurer and a secretary and other officers as they may desire.
Each of the officers shall, for their respective committees,
perform the duties that usually appertain to his or her office.
The organizational meeting may be conducted prior to July 1, but
must occur after the certification of the election of the new
executive committees. If the organizational meeting is conducted
prior to July 1, the new committee shall serve out the remainder of
the outgoing committee’s term and is authorized to conduct official
business. A current listing of all executive committees’ members
shall be filed with the Secretary of State by of July 31 of each
year. Vacancies in any executive committee shall be filled by the
appropriate executive committee as provided in subsection (f) of
this section no later than sixty days after the vacancy occurs.
The chair of each executive committee shall submit an updated
committee list to the Secretary of State within ten days of a
change occurring. Executive committee membership lists shall
include at least the member’s name, full address, employer,
telephone number and term information. An appointment to fill a
vacancy does not take effect if the executive committee does not
submit the updated list to the Secretary of State within the
allotted time period. If the executive committee fails to submit
the updated list within the allotted time period, it must make
another appointment pursuant to the provisions of this section and
resubmit the updated list in a timely manner. If a vacancy on an
executive committee is not filled within the sixty-day period
prescribed by this section, the chair of the appropriate executive
committee, as provided in subsection (f) of this section, shall
name someone to fill the vacancy. If the chair of a county
executive committee fails to fill a vacancy in a congressional
district, state senatorial district or delegate district executive
committee, and the failure to fill such vacancy prohibits said
committee from conducting official business, the chair of the
party’s state executive committee shall fill such vacancy.

(h) Any meeting of any political party executive committee
shall be held only after public notice and notice to each member is
given according to party rules and shall be open to all members
affiliated with the party. Meetings shall be conducted according
to party rules, all official actions shall be made by voice vote
and minutes shall be maintained and shall be open to inspection by
members affiliated with the party.

§3-1-21. Printing of official and sample ballots; number;
packaging and delivery; correction of ballots.

(a) The board of ballot commissioners for each county shall
provide the ballots and sample ballots necessary for conducting
every election for public officers in which the voters of the
county participate.

(b) The persons required to provide the ballots necessary for
conducting all other elections are:

(1) The Secretary of State, for any statewide special election
ordered by the Legislature;

(2) The board of ballot commissioners, for any countywide
special election ordered by the county commission;

(3) The board of education, for any special levy or bond
election ordered by the board of education; or

(4) The municipal board of ballot commissioners, for any
election conducted for or within a municipality except an election
in which the matter affecting the municipality is placed on the
county ballot at a county election. Ballots other than those
printed by the proper authorities as specified in this section may
not be cast, received or counted in any election.

(c) When paper ballots are used, the total number of regular
official ballots printed shall equal one and one-twentieth times
the number of registered voters eligible to vote that ballot. When
paper ballots are used in conjunction with or as part of an
electronic voting system, the total number of regular official
ballots printed shall equal at a minimum eighty percent of the
number of registered voters eligible to vote that ballot. The
clerk of the county commission shall determine the number of
absentee official ballots.

(d) The number of regular official ballots packaged for each
precinct shall equal at a minimum seventy-five percent of the
number of registered voters of the precinct. The remaining regular
official ballots shall be packaged and delivered to the clerk of
the county commission, who shall retain them unopened until they
are required for an emergency. Each package of ballots shall be
wrapped and sealed in a manner which will immediately make apparent
any attempt to open, alter or tamper with the ballots. Each
package of ballots for a precinct shall be clearly labeled, in a
manner which cannot be altered, with the county name, the precinct
number and the number of ballots contained in each package. If the
packaging material conceals the face of the ballot, a sample ballot
identical to the official ballots contained therein shall be
securely attached to the outside of the package or, in the case of
ballot cards, the type of ballot shall be included in the label.

(e) All absentee ballots necessary for conducting absentee
voting in all voting systems shall be delivered to the clerk of the
county commission of the appropriate county not later than the
forty-secondforty-sixth day before the election. All official
ballots in paper ballot systems shall be delivered to the clerk of
the county commission of the appropriate county not later than
twenty-eight days before the election.

(f) Upon a finding of the Board of Ballot Commissioners that
an official ballot contains an error which, in the opinion of the
board, is of sufficient magnitude to confuse or mislead the voters,
the board shall cause the error to be corrected either by the
reprinting of the ballots or by the use of stickers printed with
the correction and of suitable size to be placed over the error
without covering any other portion of the ballot.

§3-1-31. Days and hours of elections.

(a) General elections shall be held in the several election
precincts of the state on the Tuesday next after the first Monday
in November of each even year. Primary and special elections shall
be held on the days provided by law therefor.

(b) Other than as provided for municipal elections in section
fourteen, article five, chapter eight of this code, at every
primary, general or special election the polls shall be opened in
each precinct on the day of such election at six-thirty o'clock in
the forenoon and be closed at seven-thirty o'clock in the evening.

(a) Any person desiring to vote in an election shall, upon
entering the election room, clearly state his or her name and
residence to one of the poll clerks who shall thereupon announce
the same in a clear and distinct tone of voice. If that person is
found to be duly registered as a voter at that precinct, he or she
shall sign his or her name in the designated location provided at
the precinct. If that person is physically or otherwise unable to
sign his or her name, his or her mark shall be affixed by one of
the poll clerks in the presence of the other and the name of the
poll clerk affixing the voter's mark shall be indicated immediately
under the affixation. No ballot may be given to the person until
he or she signs his or her name on the designated location or his
or her signature is affixed thereon.

(b) The clerk of the county commission is authorized, upon
verification that the precinct at which a handicapped person is
registered to vote is not handicap accessible, to transfer that
person's registration to the nearest polling place in the county
which is handicap accessible. A request by a handicapped person
for a transfer of registration must be received by the county clerk
no later than thirty days prior to the date of the election. Any
handicapped person who has not made a request for a transfer of
registration at least thirty days prior to the date of the election
may vote a provisional ballot at a handicap accessible polling
place in the county of his or her registration. If, during the
canvass, the county commission determines that the person had been
registered in a precinct that is not handicap accessible, the voted
ballot, if otherwise valid, shall be counted. The handicapped
person may vote in the precinct to which the registration was
transferred only as long as the disability exists or the precinct
from which the handicapped person was transferred remains
inaccessible to the handicapped. To ensure confidentiality of the
transferred ballot, the county clerk processing the ballot shall
provide the voter with an unmarked envelope and an outer envelope
designated "provisional ballot/handicapped voter". After
validation of the ballot at the canvass, the outer envelope shall
be destroyed and the handicapped voter's ballot shall be placed
with other approved provisional ballots prior to removal of the
ballot from the unmarked envelope.

(c) When the voter's signature is properly marked, the two
poll clerks shall sign their names in the places indicated on the
back of the official ballot and deliver the ballot to the voter to
be voted by him or her without leaving the election room. If he or
she returns the ballot spoiled to the clerks, they shall
immediately mark the ballot "spoiled" and it shall be preserved and
placed in a spoiled ballot envelope together with other spoiled
ballots to be delivered to the board of canvassers and deliver to
the voter another official ballot, signed by the clerks on the
reverse side. The voter shall thereupon retire alone to the booth
or compartment prepared within the election room for voting
purposes and there prepare his or her ballot. In voting for
candidates in general and special elections, the voter shall comply
with the rules and procedures prescribed in section five, article
six of this chapter.

(d) It is the duty of a poll clerk, in the presence of the
other poll clerk, to indicate by a check mark, or by other means,
inserted in the appropriate place on the registration record of
each voter the fact that the voter voted in the election. In
primary elections the clerk shall also insert thereon a
distinguishing initial or initials of the political party for whose
candidates the voter voted. If a person is challenged at the
polls, the challenge shall be indicated by the poll clerks on the
registration record, together with the name of the challenger. The
subsequent removal of the challenge shall be recorded on the
registration record by the clerk of the county commission.

(e) (1) No voter may receive any assistance in voting unless,
by reason of blindness, disability, advanced age or inability to
read and write, that voter is unable to vote without assistance.
Any voter qualified to receive assistance in voting under the
provisions of this section may:

(A) Declare his or her choice of candidates to an election
commissioner of each political party who, in the presence of the
voter and in the presence of each other, shall prepare the ballot
for voting in the manner hereinbefore provided and, on request,
shall read to the voter the names of the candidates selected on the
ballot;

(B) Require the election commissioners to indicate to him or
her the relative position of the names of the candidates on the
ballot, whereupon the voter shall retire to one of the booths or
compartments to prepare his or her ballot in the manner
hereinbefore provided;

(C) Be assisted by any person of the voter's choice, other
than the voter's present or former employer or agent of that
employer, the officer or agent of a labor union of which the voter
is a past or present member or a candidate on the ballot or an
official write-in candidate; or

(D) If he or she is handicapped, vote from an automobile
outside the polling place or precinct by the absentee balloting
method provided in subsection (e), section five, article three of
this chapter in the presence of an election commissioner of each
political party if all of the following conditions are met:

(i) The polling place is not handicap accessible; and

(ii) No voters are voting or waiting to vote inside the
polling place.

(2) The voted ballot shall then be returned to the precinct
officials and secured in a sealed envelope to be returned to the
clerk of the county commission with all other election materials.
The ballot shall then be tabulated using the appropriate method
provided in section eight, article three of this chapter as it
relates to the specific voting system in use.

(3) Any voter who requests assistance in voting but who is
believed not to be qualified for assistance under the provisions of
this section shall nevertheless be permitted to vote a provisional
ballot with the assistance of any person herein authorized to
render assistance.

(4) Any one or more of the election commissioners or poll
clerks in the precinct may challenge the ballot on the ground that
the voter thereof received assistance in voting it when in his, her
or their opinion the person who received assistance in voting is
not so illiterate, blind, disabled or of such advanced age as to
have been unable to vote without assistance. The election
commissioner or poll clerk or commissioners or poll clerks making
the challenge shall enter the challenge and reason therefor on the
form and in the manner prescribed or authorized by article three of
this chapter.

(5) An election commissioner or other person who assists a
voter in voting:

(A) May not in any manner request or seek to persuade or
induce the voter to vote any particular ticket or for any
particular candidate or for or against any public question and must
not keep or make any memorandum or entry of anything occurring
within the voting booth or compartment and must not, directly or
indirectly, reveal to any person the name of any candidate voted
for by the voter or which ticket he or she had voted or how he or
she had voted on any public question or anything occurring within
the voting booth or compartment or voting machine booth except when
required pursuant to law to give testimony as to the matter in a
judicial proceeding; and

(B) Shall sign a written oath or affirmation before assisting
the voter on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State stating
that he or she will not override the actual preference of the voter
being assisted, attempt to influence the voter's choice or mislead
the voter into voting for someone other than the candidate of
voter's choice. The person assisting the voter shall also swear or
affirm that he or she believes that the voter is voting free of
intimidation or manipulation.Provided, That noNo person
providing assistance to a voter is required to sign an oath or
affirmation where the reason for requesting assistance is the
voter's inability to vote without assistance because of blindness
as defined in section three, article fifteen, chapter five of this
code and the inability to vote without assistance because of
blindness is certified in writing by a physician of the voter's
choice and is on file in the office of the clerk of the county
commission.

(6) In accordance with instructions issued by the Secretary of
State, the clerk of the county commission shall provide a form
entitled "list of assisted voters", the form of which list shall
likewise be prescribed by the Secretary of State. The
commissioners shall enter the name of each voter receiving
assistance in voting the ballot together with the poll slip number
of that voter and the signature of the person or the commissioner
from each party who assisted the voter. If no voter has been
assisted in voting, the commissioners shall likewise make and
subscribe to an oath of that fact on the list.

(f) After preparing the ballot, the voter shall fold the
ballot so that the face is not exposed and so that the names of the
poll clerks thereon are seen. The voter shall announce his or her
name and present his or her ballot to one of the commissioners who
shall hand the same to another commissioner, of a different
political party, who shall deposit it in the ballot box if the
ballot is the official one and properly signed. The commissioner
of election may inspect every ballot before it is deposited in the
ballot box to ascertain whether it is single but without unfolding
or unrolling it so as to disclose its content. When the voter has
voted, he or she shall retire immediately from the election room
and beyond the sixty-footthree hundred-foot limit thereof and may
not return except by permission of the commissioners or to lawfully
assist another voter pursuant to the provisions of subsection (e)
of this section.

(g) Following the election, the oaths or affirmations required
by this section from those assisting voters, together with the
"list of assisted voters", shall be returned by the election
commissioners to the clerk of the county commission along with the
election supplies, records and returns. The clerk of the county
commission shall make the oaths, affirmations and list available
for public inspection and shall preserve them for a period of
twenty-two months or until disposition is authorized or directed by
the Secretary of State or court of record. Provided, That theThe
clerk may use these records to update the voter registration
records in accordance with subsection (d), section eighteen,
article two of this chapter.

(h) Any person making an oath or affirmation required under
the provisions of this section who knowingly swears falsely or any
person who counsels, advises, aids or abets another in the
commission of false swearing under this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more
than $1,000 or confined in jail for a period of not more than one
year, or both fined and confined.

(i) Any election commissioner or poll clerk who authorizes or
provides unchallenged assistance to a voter when the voter is known
to the election commissioner or poll clerk not to require
assistance in voting is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned in a
state correctional facility for a period of not less than one year
nor more than five years, or both fined and imprisoned.

§3-1-35. Ballots to be furnished voters.

In general and special elections the ballots for all voters of
an election precinct shall be the same. In primary elections the
ballot of the voter's political party at that election in that
precinct shall be furnished to the voter together with separate
ballots, if any, on any nonpartisan candidates and any public
questions submitted to the voters generally at such primary
election. In the event the voter is lawfully registered as
"independent" or as an adherent of a political party not appearing
on any primary election ballot to be voted in his precinct, he
shall not, in a primary election, be given or entitled to vote any
a party ballotbe given a party ballot and is not entitled to vote
a party ballot unless the voter requests a ballot of a political
party that has permitted the voter to vote according to section
thirty-one, article two, of this chapter, andbut shall be
furnished any separate ballots to be voted thereat on nonpartisan
candidates and public questions.

The Secretary of State shall establish and maintain a state-based administrative complaint procedure for complaints received
concerning election violations which shall meet the following
requirements:

(1) The procedures shall be uniform and nondiscriminatory.

(2) Under the procedures, any person who believes that there
is a violation of any provision of this chapter orTitle III of the
Help America Vote Act of 2002, 42 United States Code §§15481 and
15485, including a violation which has occurred, is occurring or is
about to occur, may file a complaint.

(3) Any complaint filed under the procedures shall be in
writing, notarized and signed and sworn by the person filing the
complaint.

(4) The Secretary of State may consolidate complaints filed
under this section.

(5) At the request of the complainant, there shall be a
hearing on the record.

(6) Violations of any provision of this chapter shall be
punishable in accordance with the provisions of article nine of
this chapter.

(7) If, under the procedures, the Secretary of State
determines that there is no violation, the Secretary of State shall
dismiss the complaint and publish the results of the procedures.

(8) The Secretary of State shall make a final determination
with respect to a complaint prior to the expiration of the ninety-day period which begins on the date the complaint is filed unless
the complainant consents to a longer period for making a
determination.

(9) If the Secretary of State fails to meet the deadline
applicable under subdivision (8) of this section, the complaint
shall be resolved within sixty days under alternative dispute
resolution procedures established for purposes of this section.
The record and other materials from any proceedings conducted under
the complaint procedures established under this section shall be
made available for use under the alternative dispute resolution
procedures.

ARTICLE 3. VOTING BY ABSENTEES.

§3-3-1. Persons eligible to vote absentee ballots.

(a) All registered and other qualified voters of the county
may vote an absentee ballot during the period of early voting in
person.

(b) Registered voters and other qualified voters in the county
are authorized to vote an absentee ballot by mail in the following
circumstances:

(1) Any voter who is confined to a specific location and
prevented from voting in person throughout the period of voting in
person because of:

(A) Illness, injury or other medical reason;

(B) Physical disability or immobility due to extreme advanced
age; or

(C) Incarceration or home detention: Provided, That the
underlying conviction is not for a crime which is a felony or a
violation of section twelve, thirteen or sixteen, article nine of
this chapter involving bribery in an election;

(2) Any voter who is absent from the county throughout the
period and available hours for voting in person because of:

(A) Personal or business travel;

(B) Attendance at a college, university or other place of
education or training; or

(C) Employment which because of hours worked and distance from
the county seat make voting in person impossible;

(3) Any voter absent from the county throughout the period and
available hours for voting in person and who is an absent uniformed
services voter or overseas voter, as defined by 42 U.S.C. §1973, et
seq., the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of
1986, including members of the uniformed services on active duty,
members of the merchant marine, spouses and dependents of those
members on active duty and persons who reside outside the United
States and are qualified to vote in the last place in which the
person was domiciled before leaving the United States is authorized
to vote an absentee ballot by mail;

(4) Any voter who is required to dwell temporarily outside the
county and is absent from the county throughout the time for voting
in person because of:

(A) Serving as an elected or appointed federal or state
officer; or

(B) Serving in any other documented employment assignment of
specific duration of four years or less; and

(5) Any voter for whom the designated area for absentee voting
within the county courthouse or annex of the courthouse and the
voter’s assigned polling place are inaccessible because of his or
her physical disability.

(c) Registered voters and other qualified voters in the county
may, in the following circumstances, vote an emergency absentee
ballot, subject to the availability of the services as provided in
this article:

(1) Any voter who is confined or expects to be confined in a
hospital or other duly licensed health care facility within the
county of residence or other authorized area, as provided in this
article, on the day of the election;

(2) Any voter who resides in a nursing home within the county
of residence and would be otherwise unable to vote in person,
providing the county commission has authorized the services if the
voter has resided in the nursing home for a period of less than
thirty days; and

(3) Any voter who is working as a replacement poll worker and
is assigned to a precinct out of his or her voting district, if the
assignment was made after the period for voting an absentee ballot
in person has expired.

(a) Absentee voting is to be supervised and conducted by the
proper official for the political division in which the election is
held, in conjunction with the ballot commissioners appointed from
each political party, as follows:

(1) For any election held throughout the county, within a
political subdivision or territory other than a municipality, or
within a municipality when the municipal election is conducted in
conjunction with a county election, the clerk of the county
commission; or

(2) The municipal recorder or other officer authorized by
charter or ordinance provisions to conduct absentee voting, for any
election held entirely within the municipality, or in the case of
annexation elections, within the area affected. The terms "clerk"
or “clerk of the county commission” or “official designated to
supervise and conduct absentee voting” used elsewhere in this
article means municipal recorder or other officer in the case of
municipal elections.

(b) A person authorized and desiring to vote a mail-in
absentee ballot in any primary, general or special election is to
make application in writing in the proper form to the proper
official as follows:

(1) The completed application is to be on a form prescribed by
the Secretary of State and is to contain the name, date of birth
and political affiliation of the voter, residence address within
the county, the address to which the ballot is to be mailed, the
authorized reason, if any, for which the absentee ballot is
requested and, if the reason is illness or hospitalization, the
name and telephone number of the attending physician, the signature
of the voter to a declaration made under the penalties for false
swearing as provided in section three, article nine of this chapter
that the statements and declarations contained in the application
are true, any additional information which the voter is required to
supply, any affidavit which may be required and an indication as to
whether it is an application for voting in person or by mail:Provided, That if the application for an absentee ballot is in
conjunction with a partisan primary election, the voter must also
provide his or her political affiliation or, in the case of an
independent or unaffiliated voter, the name of the party in whose
primary the voter chooses to participate; or

(2) For any person authorized to vote an absentee ballot under
the provisions of 42 U.S.C. §1973, et seq., the Uniformed and
Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986, the completed
application may be on the federal postcard application for absentee
ballot form issued under authority of that act, submitted by mail
or electronically; or on the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot; or

(3) For any person unable to obtain the official form for
absentee balloting at a reasonable time before the deadline for an
application for an absentee ballot by mail is to be received by the
proper official, the completed application may be in a form set out
by the voter, provided all information required to meet the
provisions of this article is set forth and the application is
signed by the voter requesting the ballot.

§3-3-2b. Special absentee voting list.

(a) Any person who is registered and otherwise qualified to
vote and who is permanently and totally physically disabled and who
is unable to vote in person at the polls in an election may apply
to the official designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting
for placement on the special absentee voting list.

(b) The application is to be on a form prescribed by the
Secretary of State which is to include the voter's name and
signature, residence address, a statement that the voter is
permanently and totally physically disabled and would be unable to
vote in person at the polls in any election, a description of the
nature of that disability, and a statement signed by a physician to
that effect.

(c) Upon receipt of a properly completed application, the
official designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting shall
enter the name on the special absentee voting list, which is to be
maintained in a secure and permanent record. The person's name
will remain active on the list until: (1) The person requests in
writing that his or her name be removed; (2) the person removes his
or her residence from the county, is purged from the voter
registration books or otherwise becomes ineligible to vote; (3) a
ballot mailed to the address provided on the application is
returned undeliverable by the United States postal service; or (4)
the death of the person.

(d) All health information released or provided in connection
with an application for absentee voting shall be used and stored in
a manner which protects the voter’s privacy rights under the
requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Public Law 104-191.

(d)(e) The official designated to supervise and conduct
absentee voting shall mail an application for an absentee ballot by
mail to each person active on the special absentee voting list not
later than forty-six days before each election.

§3-3-3. Early voting in person.

(a) The voting period for early in-person voting is to be
conducted during regular business hours beginning on the twentieththirteenth day before the election and continuing through the third
day before the election. For any election held on a Tuesday, theThe early voting period for in-person voting is to be available
from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the two Saturdays prior to the
election.

(b) Any person desiring to vote during the period of early in-person voting shall, upon entering the election room, clearly state
his or her name and residence to the official or representative
designated to supervise and conduct absenteeearly in-person
voting. If that person is found to be duly registered as a voter
in the precinct of his or her residence, he or she shall beis
required to sign his or her name in the space marked “signature of
voter” on the pollbook, or the voter’s mark is duly witnessed. If
the voter is unable to sign his or her name due to illiteracy or
physical disability, the person assisting the voter and witnessing
the mark of the voter shall sign his or her name in the space
provided. No ballot may be given to the person until he or she
signs his or her name on the pollbook.

(c) When the voter’s signature or mark is properly on the
pollbook, two qualified representatives of the official designated
to supervise and conduct absentee voting shall sign their names in
the places indicated on the back of the official ballot: Provided,
That this requirement is waived if the ballot is provided
electronically.

(d) If the official designated to supervise and conduct
absentee voting determines that the voter is not properly
registered in the precinct where he or she resides, the clerk or
his or her representative shall challenge the voter's absentee
ballot as provided in this article.

(e) The official designated to supervise and conduct absentee
voting shall provide each person voting an absentee ballot in
person the following items to be printed as prescribed by the
Secretary of State:

(1) In counties using paper ballots, one of each type of
official absentee ballot the voter is eligible to vote, prepared
according to law;

(2) In counties using punch card systems, one of each type of
official absentee ballot the voter is eligible to vote, prepared
according to law, and a gray secrecy envelope;

(3)(2) In counties using optical scan systems, one of each
type of official absentee ballot the voter is eligible to vote,
prepared according to law, and a secrecy sleeve; or

(4)(3) For direct recording election systems, access to the
voting equipment in the voting booth.

(f) The voter shall enter the voting booth alone and there
mark the ballot: Provided, That the voter may have assistance in
voting according to the provisions of section four of this article.
After the voter has voted the ballot or ballots, the absentee voter
shall: Place the ballot or ballots in the gray secrecy envelope
and return the ballot or ballots to the official designated to
supervise and conduct the absentee voting: Provided, however, That
in direct recording election systems, once the voter has cast his
or her ballot, the voter shall exit the polling place.

(g) Upon receipt of the voted ballot, representatives of the
official designated to supervise and conduct the absentee voting
shall:

(1) Remove the ballot stub;

(2) Place punch card ballots and paper ballots into one
envelope which shall not have any marks except the precinct number
and seal the envelope;

(3) Place ballots for all voting systems into a ballot box
that is secured by two locks with a key to one lock kept by the
president of the county commission and a key to the other lock kept
by the county clerk.

(4) Due to the reenactment of this section by the Legislature
in the two thousand three regular session removing authorization
for early in-person voting on the Monday prior to a Tuesday
election, to assure notice to all persons that voted on the Monday
before the Tuesday election day of the two thousand two general
election are made aware of this change, the clerk of each county
shall, for the primary election of the year two thousand four,
include along with the sample ballots published in local newspapers
as required by this chapter a notice to voters that Monday in-person voting will no longer be available.

§3-3-4. Assistance to voter in voting an early-in-person ballot;
penalties.

(a) Any registered voter who requires assistance to vote by
reason of blindness, disability, advanced age or inability to read
and write may be given assistance by a person of the voter's
choice: Provided, That the assistance may not be given by the
voter's present or former employer or agent of that employer, by
the officer or agent of a labor union of which the voter is a past
or present member or by a candidate on the ballot.

(b) Any voter who requests assistance in voting an absent
voter's ballot but who is determined by the official designated to
supervise and conduct absentee voting not to be qualified for
assistance under the provisions of this section and section thirty-four, article one of this chapter may vote a challenged absent
voter's ballot with the assistance of any person authorized to
render assistance pursuant to this section. The official
designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting shall in this
case challenge the absent voter's ballot on the basis ofIf in his
or her determination that the voter is not qualified for
assistance, the official designated to supervise and conduct early-in-person voting shall challenge the voter’s ballot.

(c) Any one or more of the election commissioners or poll
clerks in the precinct to which an absent voter's ballot has been
sent may challenge the ballot on the ground that the voter received
assistance in voting it when in his or their opinion: (1) The
person who received the assistance in voting the absent voter's
ballot did not require assistance; or (2) the person who provided
the assistance in voting did not make an affidavit as required by
this section. The election commissioner or poll clerk or
commissioners or poll clerks making a challenge shall enter the
challenge and reason for the challenge on the form and in the
manner prescribed or authorized by this article.

(d) Before entering the voting booth or compartment, the
person who intends to provide a voter assistance in voting shall
make an affidavit, the form of which is to be prescribed by the
Secretary of State, that he or she will not in any manner request
or seek to persuade or induce the voter to vote any particular
ticket or for any particular candidate or for or against any public
question and that he or she will not keep or make any memorandum,
image or recording or entry of anything occurring within the voting
booth or compartment and that he or she will not, directly or
indirectly, reveal to any person the name of any candidate voted
for by the voter or which ticket he or she had voted or how he or
she had voted on any public question or anything occurring within
the voting booth or compartment or voting machine booth, except
when required pursuant to law to give testimony as to the matter in
a judicial proceeding.

(e) In accordance with instructions issued by the Secretary of
State, the official designated to supervise and conduct absenteeearly-in-person voting shall provide a form entitled “List of
Assisted Voters”,. The form of which is to be prescribed by the
Secretary of State,.whichThe list is to be divided into two
parts.: Part A is to be entitled “Unchallenged Assisted Voters”
and Part B is to be entitled “Challenged Assisted Voters”. Under
Part A, the official designated to supervise and conduct early-in-person voting shall enter the name of each voter receiving
unchallenged assistance in voting an absent voter's ballot, the
address of the voter assisted, the nature of the disability which
qualified the voter for assistance in voting an absentearly-in-person voter's ballot, the name of the person providing the voter
with assistance in voting an absentearly-in-person voter's ballot,
the fact that the person rendering the assistance in voting made
and subscribed to the oath required by this section and the
signature of the official designated to supervise and conduct
absentearly-in-person voting certifying to the fact that he or she
had determined that the voter who received assistance in voting an
absentearly-in-person voter's ballot was qualified to receive the
assistance under the provisions of this section. Under Part B, the
official designated to supervise and conduct absentearly-in-person
voting shall enter the name of each voter receiving challenged
assistance in voting, the address of the voter receiving challenged
assistance, the reason for the challenge and the name of the person
providing the challenged voter with assistance in voting. At the
close of the period provided for voting an absentearly-in-person
voter's ballot by personal appearance, the official designated to
supervise and conduct absentearly-in-person voting shall make and
subscribe to an oath on the list that the list is correct in all
particulars; if no voter has been assisted in voting an absentearly-in-person voter's ballot as provided in this section, the
official designated to supervise and conduct absentearly-in-person
voting shall make and subscribe to an oath of that fact on the
list. The “List of Assisted Voters” is to be available for public
inspection in the office of the official designated to supervise
and conduct absentearly-in-person voting during regular business
hours throughout the period provided for voting an absentearly-in-person voter's ballot by personal appearance and, unless otherwise
directed by the Secretary of State, the official shall transmit the
list, together with the affidavits, applications and absentearly-in-person voters' ballots, to the precincts on election day.

(f) Following the election, the affidavits required by this
section from persons providing assistance in voting, together with
the “List of Assisted Voters”, are to be returned by the election
commissioners to the clerk of the county commission, along with the
election supplies, records and returns,.whoThe clerk shall make
the oaths and list available for public inspection and who shall
preserve the oaths and list for twenty-two months or, if under
order of the court, until their destruction or other disposition is
authorized or directed by the court.

(g) All health information released or provided in connection
with early-in-person voting shall be used and stored in a manner
which protects the voter’s privacy rights under the requirements of
the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996
(HIPAA), Public Law 104-191.

(g)(h) Any person making an affidavit required under the
provisions of this section who knowingly swears falsely in the
affidavit or any person who counsels or advises, aids or abets
another in the commission of false swearing under this section, or
who renders assistance in voting an early-in-person ballot when he
or she is not qualified or permitted to do so under this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not more than $1,000 or confined in the county or regional
jail for a period of not more than one year, or both.

(h) Any person who provides a voter assistance in voting an
absent voter's ballot in the office of the official designated to
supervise and conduct early-in-person voting who is not qualified
or permitted by this section to provide assistance is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more
than $1,000 or imprisoned in the county or regional jail for a
period of not more than one year, or both.

(i) Any official designated to supervise and conduct early-in-person voting, election commissioner or poll clerk who authorizes
or allows a voter to receive or to have received unchallenged
assistance in voting an absent voter's ballot when the voter is
known to the official designated to supervise and conduct early-in-person voting or election commissioner or poll clerk not to be or
have been authorized by the provisions of this section to receive
or to have received assistance in voting is guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000
or imprisoned in the county or regional jail for a period of not
more than one year, or both.

(j) The term "physical disability" as used in this section
means blindness or a degree of blindness as will prevent the voter
from seeing the names on the ballot or amputation of both hands or
a disability of both hands that neither can be used to make cross
marks on the absent voter's ballot.“Physical Disability” or
“Physically Disabled” means blindness or a degree of blindness that
prevents a person from seeing any form, posting, document, ballot,
or other writing set forth in this chapter, whether presented on
paper or electronically; or any physical condition, whether chronic
or temporary, which results in substantial impairment of the
voter’s ability to preform any act required by this chapter.

§3-3-5. Voting an absentee ballot by mail or electronically;
penalties.

(a) Upon oral or written request, the official designated to
supervise and conduct absentee voting shall provide to any voter of
the county, in person, by mail, or electronically the appropriate
application for voting absentee by mail as provided in this
article. The voter shall complete and sign the applicationThe
completed application shall be signed by the voter in his or her
own handwriting or, if the voter is unable to completesign the
application because of illiteracy or physical disability, the
person assisting the voter and witnessing the mark of the voter
shall sign his or her name in the space provided.

(b) Completed applications for voting an absentee ballot by
mail are to be accepted when received by the official designated to
supervise and conduct absentee voting in person, by mail, or
electronically within the following times:

(1) For persons eligible to vote an absentee ballot under the
provisions of subdivision (3), subsection (b), section one of this
article, relating to absent uniformed services and overseas voters,
not earlier than January 1 of an election year or eighty-four days
preceding the election, whichever is earlier, and not later than
the sixth day preceding the election, which application is to, upon
the voter's request, be accepted as an application for the ballots
for all elections in the calendar year; and

(2) For all other persons eligible to vote an absentee ballot
by mail, not earlier than eighty-four days preceding the election
and not later than the sixth day preceding the election.

(c) Upon acceptance of a completed application, the official
designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting shall determine
whether the following requirements have been met:

(1) The application has been completed as required by law;

(2) The applicant is duly registered to vote in the precinct
of his or her residence and, in a primary election, is qualified to
vote the ballot of the political party requested;

(3) The applicant is authorized for the reasons given in the
application to vote an absentee ballot by mail;

(4) The address to which the ballot is to be mailed is an
address outside the county if the voter is applying to vote by mail
under the provisions of paragraph (A) or (B), subdivision (2),
subsection (b), section one of this article; or subdivision (3) or
(4) of said subsection;

(5) The applicant is not making his or her first vote after
having registered by postcard registration or, if the applicant is
making his or her first vote after having registered by postcard
registration, the applicant is exempt from these requirements if
they are physically disabled, a uniformed or oversees voter, as
defined by U.S.C. §1973, et seq. or attended school out of state;
and

(6) No regular and repeated pattern of applications for an
absentee ballot by mail for the reason of being out of the county
during the entire period of voting in person exists to suggest that
the applicant is no longer a resident of the county.

(d) If the official designated to supervise and conduct
absentee voting determines that the required conditions have been
met, two representatives that are registered to vote with different
political party affiliations shall sign their names in the places
indicated on the back of the official ballot. If the official
designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting determines the
required conditions have not been met, or has evidence that any of
the information contained in the application is not true, the
official shall give notice to the voter that the voter's absentee
ballot will be challenged as provided in this article and shall
enter that challenge.

(e) (1) Within one day after the official designated to
supervise and conduct absentee voting has both the completed
application and the ballot, the official shall mailprovide to the
voter at the address given on the application, by mail or
electronically, as appropriate the following items as required and
as prescribed by the Secretary of State:

(A) One of each type of official absentee ballot the voter is
eligible to vote, prepared according to law;

(B) One envelope, unsealed, which may have no marks except the
designation "Absent Voter's Ballot Envelope No. 1" and printed
instructions to the voter;

(E) For electronic systems, a device for marking by
electronically sensible pen or ink, as may be appropriate;

(F)(E) Notice that a list of write-in candidates is available
upon request; and

(G)(F) Any other suppliesinformation or material required
for voting in the particular voting system.

(2) If the voter is an absent uniformed services voter or
overseas voter, as defined by 42 U.S.C. §1973, et seq., the
official designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting shall
transmit the ballot to the voter via mail, or electronically as
requested by the voter. If the voter does not designate a
preference for transmittal, the clerk may select either method of
transmittal for the ballot. If the ballot is transmitted
electronically pursuant to this subdivision, the official
designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting shall also
transmit electronically:

(A) A waiver of privacy form, to be promulgated by the
Secretary of State;

(B) Instructions for voting absentee utilizing a federally
approved system for voting by mail or electronically;

(C) Notice that a list of write-in candidates is available
upon request; and

(D) Statement of the voter affirming the voter’s current name
and address and whether or not he or she received assistance in
voting.

(f) The voter shall mark the ballot alone: Provided, That the
voter may have assistance in voting according to the provisions of
section six of this article.

(1) After the voter has voted the ballot or ballots to be
returned by mail, the voter shall:

(A) Place the ballot or ballots in envelope no. 1 and seal
that envelope;

(B) Place the sealed envelope no. 1 in envelope no. 2 and seal
that envelope;

(C) Complete and sign the forms on envelope no. 2; and

(D) Return that envelope to the official designated to
supervise and conduct absentee voting.

(2) If the ballot was transmitted electronically as provided
in subdivision (2), subsection (e) of this section, the voter shall
return the ballot in the same manner the ballot was received, or
the voter may return the ballot by United States mail, along with
a signed privacy waiver form.

(g) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section,
absentee ballots returned by United States mail or other express
shipping service are to be accepted if:

(1) The ballot is received by the official designated to
supervise and conduct absentee voting no later than the day after
the election; or

(2) The ballot bears a postmark of the United States Postal
Service dated no later than election day and the ballot is received
by the official designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting
no later than the hour at which the board of canvassers convenes to
begin the canvass.

(h) Absentee ballots received through the United States mail
from persons eligible to vote an absentee ballot under the
provisions of subdivision (3), subsection (b), section one of this
article, relating to uniform services and overseas voters, are to
be accepted if the ballot is received by the official designated to
supervise and conduct absentee voting no later than the hour at
which the board of canvassers convenes to begin the canvass.

(i) Voted ballots submitted electronically pursuant to
subdivision (2), subsection (f) of this section are to be accepted
if the ballot is received by the official designated to supervise
and conduct absentee voting no later than the close of polls on
election day: Provided, That the Secretary of State's office shall
enter into an agreement with the Federal Voting Assistance Program
of the United States Department of Defense to transmit the ballots
to the county clerks at a time when two individuals of opposite
political parties are available to process the received ballots.

(j) Ballots received after the proper time which cannot be
accepted are to be placed unopened in an envelope marked for the
purpose and kept secure for twenty-two months following the
election, after which time they are to be destroyed without being
opened.

(k) Absentee ballots which are hand delivered are to be
accepted if they are received by the official designated to
supervise and conduct absentee voting no later than the day
preceding the election: Provided, That no person may hand deliver
more than two absentee ballots in any election and any person hand
delivering an absentee ballot is required to certify that he or she
has not examined or altered the ballot. Any person who makes a
false certification violates the provisions of article nine of this
chapter and is subject to those provisions.

(l) Upon receipt of the sealed envelope, the official
designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting shall:

(1) Enter onto the envelope any other required information;

(2) Enter the challenge, if any, to the ballot;

(3) Enter the required information into the permanent record
of persons applying for and voting an absentee ballot in person;
and

(4) Place the sealed envelope into a ballot box that is
secured by two locks with a key to one lock kept by the president
of the county commission and a key to the other lock kept by the
county clerk.

(m) Upon receipt of a ballot submitted electronically pursuant
to subdivision (2), subsection (f) of this section, the official
designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting shall place the
ballot in an envelope marked "Absentee by Electronic Means" with
the completed waiver: Provided, That no ballots are to be
processed without the presence of two individuals of opposite
political parties.

(n) All ballots received electronically prior to the close of
the polls on election day are to be tabulated in the manner
prescribed for tabulating absentee ballots submitted by mail to the
extent that those procedures are appropriate for the applicable
voting system. The clerk of the county commission shall keep a
record of absentee ballots sent and received electronically.

§3-3-5a. Processing federal postcard applications.

When a federal postcard registration and absentee ballot
request (FPCA), as defined in subdivision (2), subsection (b),
section two of this article, is received by the official designated
to supervise and conduct absentee voting, the official shall
examine the application and take the following steps:

(1) The official shall first enter the name of the applicant
in the permanent absentee voter's record for each election for
which a ballot is requested, make a photocopy of the application
for each election for which a ballot is requested and place the
separate copies in secure files to be maintained for use in the
various elections. Unless otherwise specified by the voter, the
application shall serve for any federal, state or local election
held during the calendar year. Voters must indicate a political
party preference on the FPCA. If not affiliated with a political
party as defined in section eight, article one of this chapter, the
voter must specifically request the ballot of a political party in
order to receive a primary election ballot, provided the political
party has elected to allow unaffiliated voters to participate in
its primary election.

(2) The official designated to supervise and conduct absentee
voting shall determine if the applicant is registered to vote at
the residence address listed in the voting residence section of the
application. If the applicant is not registered, or not registered
at the address given, the official shall deliver the original FPCA
to the clerk of the county commission for processing, and the clerk
of the county commission shall process the application as an
application for registration and, if the application is received
after the close of voter registration for the next succeeding
election, the official shall challenge the absentee ballot for that
election.up to and including the final day to accept an
application for an absentee ballot prior to any election.

(3) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this section, the
federal application for an absentee ballot received from a person
qualified to use the application as provided in section two of this
article is to be processed as all other applications and the ballot
or ballots for each election for which ballots are requested by the
applicant is to be mailed to the voter on the first day on which
both the application and the ballot are available.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, a
person qualified to vote an absentee ballot in accordance with
subdivision (3), subsection (d)(b), section one of this article
may apply not earlier than January 1, of an election year for a
specialfederal write-in absentee ballot for a primary or general
election, in conjunction with the application for a regular
absentee ballot or ballots. If the application is received after
the forty-ninth day preceding the election, theThe official
designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting shall honor
only the application for local, state and federal offices in
general, special and primary elections.

(b) The application for a specialfederal write-in absentee
ballot may be made on the federal postcard application formwrite-in absentee ballot at the time the federal write-in absentee ballot
is submitted.

(c) In order to qualify for a specialfederal write-in
absentee ballot, the voter must state that he or she is unable to
vote by regular absentee ballot, or in person due to requirements
of military service or due to living in isolated areas or extremely
remote areas of the world, or due to other circumstances making
writ-in absentee voting impracticable or impossible. The federal
writ-in absentee ballot may be used as a failsafe voting mechanism
in the case of a qualified voter who has not timely received a
previously requested absentee ballot. This statement may be made
on the federal postcard application or on a form preparedapproved
by the Secretary of State and supplied and returnedsubmitted with
the specialfederal write-in absentee ballot.

(d) Upon receipt of the applicationrequest of a qualified
voter within the time required, the official designated to
supervise and conduct absentee voting shall issueprovide the
specialfederal write-in absentee ballot which is to be the same
ballot issued under the provisions of 42 U.S.C. §1973, et seq., the
Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986. The
ballot is to permit the elector to vote in a primary election by
indicating his or her political party affiliation and the names of
the specific candidates for each office, and in a general election
by writing in a party preference for each office, the names of
specific candidates for each office, or the name of the person whom
the voter prefers for each office.

(e) When a special federal write-in absentee ballot is
received by the official designated to supervise and conduct
absentee voting from a voter: (1) Who mailed the write-in ballot
from any location within the United Statescounty of residence; (2)
who did not apply for a regular absentee ballot; (3) who did not
apply for a regular absentee ballot by mail; or (4) whose
application for a regular absentee ballot by mail was received less
than thirty days before the election,or (2)who is not a qualified
voter as defined in accordance with subdivision(3), subsection (b),
section one of this article, the write-in ballot may not be
counted.

(f) Any write-in absentee ballot must be received by the
official designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting prior
to the close of the polls on election day or it may not be countedas provided in subsection (g), section five of this article.

§3-3-6. Assistance to voter in voting an absent voter's ballot by
mail.

(a) No voter shall receive any assistance in voting an absent
voter's ballot by mail unless he or she shall make a declaration at
the time he or she makes application for an absent voter's ballot
that because of blindness, disability, advanced age or inability to
read or write he or she requires assistance in voting an absent
voter's ballot.

(b) Upon receipt of an absent voter's ballot by mail, the
voter who requires assistance in voting such ballot and who has
indicated he or she requires such assistance and the reasons
therefor on the application may select any eligible person, as
defined in section three, article three of this chapter, to assist
him or her in voting.

(c) The person providing assistance in voting an absent
voter's ballot by mail shall make an affidavit on a form as may be
prescribed by the Secretary of State, that he will not in any
manner request, or seek to persuade, or induce the voter to vote
any particular ticket or for any particular candidate or for or
against any public question, and that he will not keep or make any
memorandum or entry of anything occurring within the voting booth
or compartment, and that he will not, directly or indirectly,
reveal to any person the name of any candidate voted for by the
voter, or which ticket he had voted, or how he had voted on any
public question, or anything occurring within the voting booth or
compartment or voting machine booth, except when required pursuant
to law to give testimony as to such matter in a judicial
proceeding.

(d) The term "assistance in voting" as used in this section
shall mean assistance in physically marking the official absent
voter's ballot for a voter, or reading or directing the voter's
attention to any part of the official absent voter's ballot.

(a) Any person who is eligible and seeks to hold an office or
political party position to be filled by election in any primary or
general election held under the provisions of this chapter shall
file a certificate of announcement declaring his or her candidacy
for the nomination or election to the office.

(b) The certificate of announcement shall be filed as follows:

(1) Candidates for the House of Delegates, or the State
Senate, circuit court judge, family court judge, state executive
committee and any other office or political position to be filled
by the voters of more than one county shall file a certificate of
announcement with the Secretary of State.

(2) Candidates for an office or political position to be
filled by the voters of a single county or a subdivision of a
county, except for candidates for the House of Delegates or State
Senate, shall file a certificate of announcement with the clerk of
the county commission.

(3) Candidates for an office to be filled by the voters of a
municipality shall file a certificate of announcement with the
recorder or city clerk.

(c) The certificate of announcement shall be filed with the
proper officer not earlier than the second Monday in January next
preceding the primary election day and not later than the last
Saturday in January next preceding the primary election day and
must be received before midnight, eastern standard time, of that
day or, if mailed, shall be postmarked by the United States Postal
Service before that hour.

(d) The certificate of announcement shall be on a form
prescribed by the Secretary of State on which the candidate shall
make a sworn statement before a notary public or other officer
authorized to administer oaths, containing the following
information:

(1) The date of the election in which the candidate seeks to
appear on the ballot;

(2) The name of the office sought; the district, if any, and
the division, if any;

(3) The legal name of the candidate and the exact name the
candidate desires to appear on the ballot, subject to limitations
prescribed in section thirteen, article five of this chapter;

(4) The county of residence and a statement that the candidate
is a legally qualified voter of that county and the magisterial
district of residence for candidates elected from magisterial
districts or under magisterial district limitations;

(5) The specific address designating the location at which the
candidate resides at the time of filing, including number and
street or rural route and box number and city, state and zip code;

(6) For partisan elections, the name of the candidate's
political party and a statement that the candidate: (A) Is a
member of and affiliated with that political party as evidenced by
the candidate's current registration as a voter affiliated with
that party; and (B) has not been registered as a voter affiliated
with any other political partychanged their voter's registration
affiliation for a period of sixty days before the date of filing
the announcement;

(7) For candidates for delegate to national convention, the
name of the presidential candidate to be listed on the ballot as
the preference of the candidate on the first convention ballot or
a statement that the candidate prefers to remain "uncommitted";

(8) A statement that the person filing the certificate of
announcement is a candidate for the office in good faith;

(9) The words "subscribed and sworn to before me this ______
day of _____________, 20____" and a space for the signature of the
officer giving the oath.

(e) The Secretary of State or the Board of Ballot
Commissioners, as the case may be, may refuse to certify the
candidacy or may remove the certification of the candidacy upon
receipt of a certified copy of the voter's registration record of
the candidate showing that the candidate was registered as a voter
in a party other than the one named in the certificate of
announcement during the sixty days immediately preceding the filing
of the certificate. Provided, That unlessUnless a signed formal
complaint of violation of this section and the certified copy of
the voter's registration record of the candidate are filed with the
officer receiving that candidate's certificate of announcement no
later than ten days following the close of the filing period, the
candidate may not be refused certification for this reason:
Provided, That challenges to a candidate's eligibility are not
precluded if a formal complaint has not been received prior to the
close of the filing period.

(f) The certificate of announcement shall be subscribed and
sworn to by the candidate before some officer qualified to
administer oaths, who shall certify the same. Any person who
knowingly provides false information on the certificate is guilty
of false swearing and shall be punished in accordance with section
three, article nine of this chapter.

(g) Any candidate for delegate to a national convention may
change his or her statement of presidential preference by notifying
the Secretary of State by letter received by the Secretary of State
no later than the third Tuesday following the close of candidate
filing. When the rules of the political party allow each
presidential candidate to approve or reject candidates for delegate
to convention who may appear on the ballot as committed to that
presidential candidate, the presidential candidate or the
candidate's committee on his or her behalf may file a list of
approved or rejected candidates for delegate and the Secretary of
State shall list as "uncommitted" any candidate for delegate who is
disapproved by the presidential candidate.

(h) A person may not be a candidate for more than one office
or office division at any election Provided, Thatexcept that a
candidate for an office may also be a candidate for President of
the United States, for membership on political party executive
committees or for delegate to a political party national
convention.

(i) A candidate who files a certificate of announcement for
more than one office or division and does not withdraw, as provided
by section eleven, article five of this chapter, from all but one
office prior to the close of the filing period may not be certified
by the Secretary of State or placed on the ballot for any office by
the Board of Ballot Commissioners.

(j) The provisions of this section enacted during the regular
session of the Legislature in the year 1991 shall apply to the
primary election held in the year 1992 and every primary election
held thereafter. The provisions of this section enacted during the
regular session of the Legislature in the year 2009 shall apply to
the primary election held in the year 2010 and every primary
election held thereafter.

§3-5-13a. Order of offices and candidates on the ballot; uniform
drawing date.

(a) The order of offices for state and county elections on all
ballots within the state shall be as prescribed herein. When the
office does not appear on the ballot in an election, then it shall
be omitted from the sequence. When an unexpired term for an office
appears on the ballot along with a full term, the unexpired term
shall appear immediately below the full term.

NATIONAL TICKET: President (and Vice President in the general
election), United States Senator, member of the United States House
of Representatives

STATE TICKET: Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor,
Treasurer, Commissioner of Agriculture, Attorney General, Justice
of the Supreme Court of Appeals, State Senator, member of the House
of Delegates, circuit court judge in multicounty districts, family
court judge in multicounty districts, any other multicounty office
and State Executive Committee.

COUNTY TICKET: circuit court judge in single-county districts,
family court judge in single-county districts, clerk of the circuit
court, county commissioner, clerk of the county commission,
prosecuting attorney, sheriff, assessor, magistrate, surveyor,
Congressional District Executive Committee, Senatorial District
Executive Committee in multicounty districts, Delegate District
Executive Committee in multicounty districts and Soil Conservation
District Director.

NATIONAL CONVENTION: Delegate to the National Convention --
at-large; Delegate to the National Convention -- congressional
district

DISTRICT TICKET: Board of Education; County Executive
Committee.

(b) Except for office divisions in which no more than one
person has filed a certificate of announcement, the arrangement of
names for all offices shall be determined by lot according to the
following provisions:

(1) On the fourth Tuesday following the close of the candidate
filing, beginning at nine o'clock a. m., a drawing by lot shall be
conducted in the office of the clerk of the county commission in
each county. Notice of the drawing shall be given on the form for
the certificate of announcement and no further notice shall beis
required. The clerk of the county commission shall superintend and
conduct the drawing. and The method of conducting the drawing shall
be prescribed by the Secretary of State.

(2) Except as provided herein, the position of each candidate
within each office division shall beis determined by the position
drawn for that candidate individually. Provided, That ifIf fewer
candidates file for an office division than the total number to be
nominated or elected, the vacant positions shall appear following
the names of all candidates for the office.

(3) Candidates for Delegate to National Convention who have
filed a commitment to a candidate for president shall be listed
alphabetically within the group of candidates committed to the same
candidate for president and uncommitted candidates shall be listed
alphabetically in an uncommitted category. The position of each
group of committed candidates and uncommitted candidates shall be
determined by lot by drawing the names of the presidential
candidates and for an uncommitted category.

(4) A candidate or the candidate's representative may attend
the drawings.

(c) By the close of business on the day of the random drawing
explained in this section, the clerk of the county commission shall
submit all relevant ballot information to the Secretary of State in
a manner prescribed by the Secretary of State.

Candidates for presidential electors shall be nominated by the
delegated representatives of the political party assembled in a
state convention to be held during the months of June, July or
August next preceding any general election at which presidential
electors are to be elected. The State Executive Committee of the
political party, by resolution, shall designate the place and fix
the date of the convention, shall prescribe the number of delegates
thereto and shall apportion the delegates among the several
counties of the state in proportion to the vote cast in the state
for the party's candidate for Governor at the last preceding
general election at which a Governor was elected. The State
Executive Committee shall also ascertain and designate all offices
for which candidates are to be nominated at the convention.

At least sixty days prior to the date fixed for holding any
state convention, the chairman of the party's state executive
committee shall cause to be delivered to the party's county
executive committee in each county of the state a copy of the
resolutions fixing the time and place for holding the state
convention and prescribing the number of delegates from each county
to the convention. Within ten days after receipt of the copy of
the resolutions, the party executive committee of each county shall
meet and, by resolution, shall apportion the delegates to the state
convention among the several magisterial districts of the county on
a basis of the vote received in the county by the candidate of the
party for Governor at the last preceding general election at which
a Governor was elected. but In such apportionment of county
delegates each magisterial district shall be entitled to at least
one delegate to the state convention. The party's county executive
committee shall call a meeting of the members of the political
party in mass convention in the county, which meeting shall be held
at least thirty days prior to the date fixed for the state
convention and at which meeting the members of the political party
in each magisterial district shall elect the number of delegates to
which the district is entitled in the state convention.

The meeting place in the county shall be as central and
convenient as can reasonably be selected and all recognized members
of the political party shall beare entitled to participate in any
mass convention and in the selection of delegates. Notice of the
time and place of holding the county mass convention and of the
person who shall act as temporary chairman thereof shall be given
by publication as a Class II-O legal advertisement in compliance
with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this
code and the publication area for the publication shall be the
county. The first publication shall be made not more than fifteen
days and the second publication shall be made not less than five
days prior to the date fixed for holding the convention. The
notice published shall specify the number of delegates which each
magisterial district in the county is entitled to elect to the
state convention.

Upon assembling, the mass convention of the county shall
choose a chairman and a secretary, who, within five days after the
holding of the convention, shall certify to the chairman of the
state executive committee of the political party and the chairman
of the county committee of the political party, the names and
addresses of the parties selected as delegates to the state
convention to the chairman of the state executive committee of the
political party and the chairman of the county committee of the
political party.

If, after the election, a vacancy exists for a delegate from
any magisterial district, the party’s county executive committee,
within ten days after the mass convention, shall appoint a member
of the political party in the magisterial district to fill the
vacancy and shall certify the appointment to the chairman of the
state executive committee of the political party.

All contests over the selection of delegates to conventions
shall be heard and determined by the party executive committee of
the county from which the delegates are chosen and the county
executive committee shall, upon written petition of any contest,
meet for a hearing and make a determination within ten days after
the holding of a county mass convention. The circuit court of the
county and the Supreme Court of Appeals of the state shall have
concurrent original jurisdiction to review, by mandamus or other
proper proceeding, the decision of a county executive committee in
any contest.

The delegates chosen and certified by and from the several
magisterial districts in the state and, in the event of any
contest, those prevailing in the contest, shall make up the state
convention. The number present of those entitled to participate in
any convention shall cast the entire vote to which the county is
entitled in the convention and it shall require a majority vote to
nominate any candidate for office.

All nominations made at state conventions shall be certified
within fifteen days thereafter by the chairman and the secretary of
the convention to the Secretary of State who shall certify them to
the clerk of the circuit courtcounty commission of each county
concerned.and theThe names of the persons so nominated shall be
printed upon the regular ballot to be voted at the ensuing general
election, except that the names of the presidential elector
candidates shall not be printed thereon.

The delegates to any state convention may formulate and
promulgate the party platform or declaration of party principles as
to them shall seem advisable.

(a) Groups of citizens having no party organization may
nominate candidates who arewere not already candidates in the last
preceding primary election for public office as defined in section
two, article one of this chapter otherwise than by conventions or
primary elections. In that case, the candidate or candidates,
jointly or severally, shall file a nomination certificate in
accordance with the provisions of this section and the provisions
of section twenty-four of this article.

(b) The person or persons soliciting or canvassing signatures
of duly qualified voters on the certificate or certificates may
solicit or canvass duly registered voters residing within the
county, district or other political division represented by the
office sought but must first obtain from the clerk of the county
commission credentials which must be exhibited to each voter
canvassed or solicited.whichThe credentials may be in the
following form or effect:

State of West Virginia, County of ..................., ss:

This certifies that the holder of this credential is hereby
authorized to solicit and canvass duly registered voters residing
in .................... (here place the county, district or other
political division represented by the office sought) to sign a
certificate purporting to nominate ............................
(here place name of candidate heading list on certificate) for the
office of ............................. and others, at the general
election to be held on ........................., 20......

Given under my hand and the seal of my office this
................. day of ........................, 20......

.................................................

Clerk, county commission of ................... County.

The clerk of each county commission, upon proper application
made as herein provided, shall issue such credentials and shall
keep a record thereof.

(c) The certificate shall be personally signed by duly
registered voters, in their own proper handwriting or by their
marks duly witnessed, who must be residents within the county,
district or other political division represented by the office
sought wherein the canvass or solicitation is made by the person or
persons duly authorized. The signatures need not all be on one
certificate. The number of signatures shall be equal to not less
than one percent of the entire vote cast at the last preceding
general election for the office in the state, district, county or
other political division for which the nomination is to be made.
In offices elected on a staggered term schedule, the number of
signatures shall be equal to not less than one percent of the
entire vote cast at the last preceding general election for the
office term expiring. In no event shall the number of signatures
be less than twenty-five. The number of signatures shall be equal
to not less than one percent of the entire vote cast at the last
preceding general election for any statewide, congressional or
presidential candidate but in no event shall the number be less
than twenty-five. Where two or more nominations may be made for
the same office, the total of the votes cast at the last preceding
general election for the candidates receiving the highest number of
votes on each ticket for the office shall constituteconstitutes
the entire vote. A signature on a certificate may not be counted
unless it be that of a duly registered voter of the county,
district or other political division represented by the office
sought wherein the certificate was presented.

(d) The certificates shall state the name and residence of
each of the candidates; that he or she is legally qualified to hold
the office; that the subscribers are legally qualified and duly
registered as voters and desire to have the candidates placed on
the ballot; and may designate, by not more than five words, a brief
name of the party which the candidates represent and may adopt a
device or emblem to be printed on the official ballot. All
candidates nominated by the signing of the certificates shall have
their names placed on the official ballot as candidates as if
otherwise nominated under the provisions of this chapter.

The Secretary of State shall prescribe the form and content of
the nomination certificates to be used for soliciting signatures.

Offices to be filled by the voters of more than one county
shall use separate petition forms for the signatures of qualified
voters for each county.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, a duly registered voter may sign the certificate provided
in this section and may vote for candidates of his or her choosing
in the corresponding primary election.

(e) The Secretary of State, or the clerk of the county
commission, as the case may be, may investigate the validity of the
certificates and the signatures thereon. If, upon investigation,
there is doubt as to the legitimacy and the validity of
certificate, the Secretary of State may ask the Attorney General of
the state or the clerk of the county commission may ask the
prosecuting attorney of the county to institute a quo warranto
proceeding against the nominee by certificate to determine his or
her right to the nomination to public office.and uponUpon
request, being made, the Attorney General or prosecuting attorney
shall institute the quo warranto proceeding. The clerk of the
county commission shall, at the request of the Secretary of State
or the clerk of the circuit court, compare the information from any
certificate to the county voter registration records. in order to
assist in determining the validity of any certificates.

(f) In addition to penalties prescribed elsewhere for
violation of this chapter, anya person violating the provisions of
this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall
be fined not more than $1,000, or confined in jail not more than
one year, or both fined and imprisoned: Provided, That a criminal
penalty may not be imposed upon anyone who signs a nomination
certificate and votes in the primary election held after the date
the certificate was signed.

§3-5-24. Filing of nomination certificates; time.

(a) All certificates nominating candidates for the House of
Delegates, State Senate, State Executive Committee or circuit court
judge and any other office or political position to be filled by
the voters of more than one county shall file a certificate of
announcement with the Secretary of Stateoffice under the preceding
section shall be filed, in the case of a candidate to be voted for
by the voters of the entire state or by any subdivision of the
state other than a single county, with the Secretary of State, and
in the case of all candidates for county and magisterial district
offices, including all offices to be filled by the voters of a
single county, with the clerk of the county commission, not later
than August 1 preceding the general election.

(b) Each candidate shall pay the filing fee required by
section eight of this article at the time of the filing of the
nomination certificate. If any nomination certificate is not
timely filed or if the filing fee is not timely paid, the
certificate may not be received by the Secretary of State, or by
the clerk of the county commission, as the case may be.

ARTICLE 6. CONDUCT AND ADMINISTRATION OF ELECTIONS.

§3-6-4a. Filing requirements for write-in candidates.

Any eligible person who seeks to be elected by write-in votes
to an office, except delegate to national convention, which is to
be filled in a primary, general or special election held under the
provisions of this chapter, shall file a write-in candidate's
certificate of announcement as provided in this section. No
certificate of announcement may be accepted and no person may be
certified as a write-in candidate for a political party nomination
for any office or for election as delegate to national convention.

(a) The write-in candidate's certificate of announcement shall
be in a form prescribed by the Secretary of State on which the
candidate shall make a sworn statement before a notary public or
other officer authorized to give oaths containing the following
information:

(1) The name of the office sought and the district and
division, if any;

(2) The legal name of the candidate and the first and last
name by which the candidate may be identified in seeking the
office;

(3) The specific address designating the location at which the
candidate resides at the time of filing, including number and
street or rural route and box number and city, state and zip code;

(4) A statement that the person filing the certificate of
announcement is a candidate for the office in good faith; and

(5) The words "subscribed and sworn to before me this ______
day of _____________, ____" and a space for the signature of the
officer giving the oath.

(b) The certificate of announcement shall be filed with the
filing officer for the political division of the office as
prescribed in section seven, article five of this chapter.

(c) The certificate of announcement shall be filed with and
received by the proper filing officer as follows:

(1) Except as provided in subdivisions (2) and (3) of this
subsection, the certificate of announcement for any office shall be
received no later than the close of business on the forty-secondforty-ninth day before the election at which the office is to be
filled;

(2) When a vacancy occurs in the nomination of candidates for
an office on the ballot resulting from the death of the nominee or
from the disqualification or removal of a nominee from the ballot
by a court of competent jurisdiction not earlier than the twenty-first day nor later than the fifth day before the general election,
the certificate shall be received no later than the close of
business on the fifth day before the election or the close of
business on the day following the occurrence of the vacancy,
whichever is later;

(3) When a vacancy occurs in an elective office which would
not otherwise appear on the ballot in the election but which
creates an unexpired term of one or more years which, according to
the provisions of this chapter, is to be filled by election in the
next ensuing election and the vacancy occurs no earlier than the
twenty-first day and no later than the fifth day before the general
election, the certificate shall be received no later than the close
of business on the fifth day before the election or the close of
business on the day following the occurrence of the vacancy,
whichever is later.

(d) Any eligible person who files a completed write-in
candidate's certificate of announcement with the proper filing
officer within the required time shall be certified by that filing
officer as an official write-in candidate:

(1) The Secretary of State shall, immediately following the
filing deadline, post the names of all official write-in candidates
for offices on the ballot in more than one county and certify the
name of each official write-in candidate to the clerks of the
county commissions of the appropriate counties.

(2) The clerk of the county commission shall, immediately
following the filing deadline, post the names of all official
write-in candidates for offices on the ballot in one county and
certify and deliver to the election officials of the appropriate
precincts the names of all official write-in candidates and the
office sought by each for statewide, district and county offices on
the ballot in the precinct for which valid write-in votes will be
counted.and theThe names of the write-in candidates shall be
posted at the office where absentee voting is conducted and at the
precincts in accordance with section twenty, article one of this
chapter.

ARTICLE 8. REGULATION AND CONTROL OF ELECTIONS.

§3-8-1a. Definitions.

As used in this article, the following terms have the
following definitions:

(1) “Ballot issue” means a constitutional amendment, special
levy, bond issue, local option referendum, municipal charter or
revision, an increase or decrease of corporate limits or any other
question that is placed before the voters for a binding decision.

(2) “Broadcast, cable or satellite communication” means a
communication that is publicly distributed by a television station,
radio station, cable television system or satellite system.

(3) “Candidate” means an individual who:

(A) Has filed a certificate of announcement under section
seven, article five of this chapter or a municipal charter;

(B) Has filed a declaration of candidacy under section
twenty-three, article five of this chapter;

(C) Has been named to fill a vacancy on a ballot; or

(D) Has declared a write-in candidacy or otherwise publicly
declared his or her intention to seek nomination or election for
any state, district, county or municipal office or party office to
be filled at any primary, general or special election.

(4) “Candidate’s committee” means a political committee
established with the approval of or in cooperation with a candidate
or a prospective candidate to explore the possibilities of seeking
a particular office or to support or aid his or her nomination or
election to an office in an election cycle. If a candidate directs
or influences the activities of more than one active committee in
a current campaign, those committees shall be considered one
committee for the purpose of contribution limits.

(5) “Clearly identified” means that the name, nickname,
photograph, drawing or other depiction of the candidate appears or
the identity of the candidate is otherwise apparent through an
unambiguous reference, such as “the Governor,” “your Senator” or
“the incumbent” or through an unambiguous reference to his or her
status as a candidate, such as “the Democratic candidate for
Governor” or “the Republican candidate for Supreme Court of
Appeals”.

(6) “Charitable Organization” means a person who is or holds
itself out to be a benevolent, educational, philanthropic, humane,
patriotic, religious or eleemosynary organization, or any person
who solicits or obtains contributions solicited from the public for
charitable purposes, or any person who in any manner employs any
appeal for contributions which may be reasonably interpreted to
suggest that any part of such contributions will be used for
charitable purposes. A chapter, branch, area, office or similar
affiliates or any person soliciting contributions within the state
for a charitable organization which has its principal place of
business outside the state is a charitable organization for the
purposes of this article.

(6)(7) “Contribution” means a gift, subscription, loan,
assessment, payment for services, dues, advance, donation, pledge,
contract, agreement, forbearance or promise of money or other
tangible thing of value, whether conditional or legally
enforceable, or a transfer of money or other tangible thing of
value to a person, made for the purpose of influencing the
nomination, election or defeat of a candidate. An offer or tender
of a contribution is not a contribution if expressly and
unconditionally rejected or returned. A contribution does not
include volunteer personal services provided without compensation:
Provided, That a nonmonetary contribution is to be considered at
fair market value for reporting requirements and contribution
limitations.

(7)(8) “Corporate political action committee” means a
political action committee that is a separate segregated fund of a
corporation that may only accept contributions from its restricted
group as outlined by the rules of the State Election Commission.

(A) Costs charged by a vendor, including, but not limited to,
studio rental time, compensation of staff and employees, costs of
video or audio recording media and talent, material and printing
costs and postage; or

(B) The cost of air time on broadcast, cable or satellite
radio and television stations, the costs of disseminating printed
materials, studio time, use of facilities and the charges for a
broker to purchase air time.

(9)(10) “Disclosure date” means either of the following:

(A) The first date during any calendar year on which any
electioneering communication is disseminated after the person
paying for the communication has spent a total of $5,000 or more
for the direct costs of purchasing, producing or disseminating
electioneering communications; or

(B) Any other date during that calendar year after any
previous disclosure date on which the person has made additional
expenditures totaling $5,000 or more for the direct costs of
purchasing, producing or disseminating electioneering
communications.

(10)(11) “Election” means any primary, general or special
election conducted under the provisions of this code or under the
charter of any municipality at which the voters nominate or elect
candidates for public office. For purposes of this article, each
primary, general, special or local election constitutes a separate
election. This definition is not intended to modify or abrogate
the definition of the term “nomination” as used in this article.

(11)(12) (A) “Electioneering communication” means any paid
communication made by broadcast, cable or satellite signal, or
published in any newspaper, magazine or other periodical that:

(i) Refers to a clearly identified candidate for Governor,
Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasurer, Auditor,
Commissioner of Agriculture, Supreme Court of Appeals or the
Legislature;

(ii) Is publicly disseminated within:

(I) Thirty days before a primary election at which the
nomination for office sought by the candidate is to be determined;
or

(II) Sixty days before a general or special election at which
the office sought by the candidate is to be filled; and

(iii) Is targeted to the relevant electorate: Provided, That
for purposes of the general election of 2008 the amendments to this
article are effective October 1, 2008.

(B) “Electioneering communication” does not include:

(i) A news story, commentary or editorial disseminated through
the facilities of any broadcast, cable or satellite television or
radio station, newspaper, magazine or other periodical publication
not owned or controlled by a political party, political committee
or candidate: Provided, That a news story disseminated through a
medium owned or controlled by a political party, political
committee or candidate is nevertheless exempt if the news is:

(I) A bona fide news account communicated in a publication of
general circulation or through a licensed broadcasting facility;
and

(II) Is part of a general pattern of campaign-related news
that gives reasonably equal coverage to all opposing candidates in
the circulation, viewing or listening area;

(ii) Activity by a candidate committee, party executive
committee or caucus committee, or a political action committee that
is required to be reported to the State Election Commission or the
Secretary of State as an expenditure pursuant to section five of
this article or the rules of the State Election Commission or the
Secretary of State promulgated pursuant to such provision:
Provided, That independent expenditures by a party executive
committee or caucus committee or a political action committee
required to be reported pursuant to subsection (b), section two of
this article are not exempt from the reporting requirements of this
section;

(iii) A candidate debate or forum conducted pursuant to rules
adopted by the State Election Commission or the Secretary of State
or a communication promoting that debate or forum made by or on
behalf of its sponsor;

(iv) A communication paid for by any organization operating
under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;

(v) A communication made while the Legislature is in session
which, incidental to promoting or opposing a specific piece of
legislation pending before the Legislature, urges the audience to
communicate with a member or members of the Legislature concerning
that piece of legislation;

(vi) A statement or depiction by a membership organization, in
existence prior to the date on which the individual named or
depicted became a candidate, made in a newsletter or other
communication distributed only to bona fide members of that
organization;

(vii) A communication made solely for the purpose of
attracting public attention to a product or service offered for
sale by a candidate or by a business owned or operated by a
candidate which does not mention an election, the office sought by
the candidate or his or her status as a candidate; or

(viii) A communication, such as a voter’s guide, which refers
to all of the candidates for one or more offices, which contains no
appearance of endorsement for or opposition to the nomination or
election of any candidate and which is intended as nonpartisan
public education focused on issues and voting history.

(12)(13) “Expressly advocating” means any communication that:

(A) Uses phrases such as “vote for the Governor,” “re-elect
your Senator,” “support the Democratic nominee for Supreme Court,”
“cast your ballot for the Republican challenger for House of
Delegates,” “Smith for House,” “Bob Smith in ‘04,” “vote Pro-Life”
or “vote Pro-Choice” accompanied by a listing of clearly identified
candidates described as Pro-Life or Pro-Choice, “vote against Old
Hickory,” “defeat” accompanied by a picture of one or more
candidates, “reject the incumbent”;

(B) Communications of campaign slogans or individual words,
that can have no other reasonable meaning than to urge the election
or defeat of one or more clearly identified candidates, such as
posters, bumper stickers, advertisements, etc., which say “Smith’s
the One,” “Jones ‘06,” “Baker”, etc; or

(C) Is susceptible of no reasonable interpretation other than
as an appeal to vote for or against a specific candidate.

(13)(14) “Financial agent” means any individual acting for and
by himself or herself, or any two or more individuals acting
together or cooperating in a financial way to aid or take part in
the nomination or election of any candidate for public office, or
to aid or promote the success or defeat of any political party at
any election.

(14)(15) “Fund-raising event” means an event such as a dinner,
reception, testimonial, cocktail party, auction or similar affair
through which contributions are solicited or received by such means
as the purchase of a ticket, payment of an attendance fee or by the
purchase of goods or services.

(17)(16) “In-kind contribution” means the donation of goods,
services, property or other thing of value other than money. The
basis for arriving at the dollar value of an in-kind contribution
is as follows:

(A) New items are valued at retail value;

(B) Used items are valued at fair market value; and

(C) Services rendered are valued at the actual cost of service
per hour.

For goods or services provided or rendered for an expenditure
less than the dollar value as determined by this section, the
difference between the calculated dollar value and the actual cost
shall be deemed an in-kind contribution. The actual cost shall be
reported as an expenditure of the campaign committee as required
under article eight of this chapter. In-kind services do not
include campaign-related services voluntarily rendered for which no
compensation is asked or given.

(15)(17) “Independent expenditure” means an expenditure by a
person:

(A) Expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly
identified candidate; and

(B) That is not made in concert or cooperation with or at the
request or suggestion of such candidate, his or her agents, the
candidate’s authorized political committee or a political party
committee or its agents.

Supporting or opposing the election of a clearly identified
candidate includes supporting or opposing the candidates of a
political party. An expenditure which does not meet the criteria
for an independent expenditure is considered a contribution.

(16)(18) “Membership organization” means a group that grants
bona fide rights and privileges, such as the right to vote, to
elect officers or directors and the ability to hold office, to its
members and which uses a majority of its membership dues for
purposes other than political purposes. “Membership organization”
does not include organizations that grant membership upon receiving
a contribution.

(17)(19) “Name” means the full first name, middle name or
initial, if any, and full legal last name of an individual and the
full name of any association, corporation, committee or other
organization of individuals, making the identity of any person who
makes a contribution apparent by unambiguous reference.

(18)(20) “Person” means an individual, corporation,
partnership, committee, association and any other organization or
group of individuals.

(19)(21) “Political action committee” means a committee
organized by one or more persons for the purpose of supporting or
opposing the nomination or election of one or more candidates. The
following are types of political action committees:

(A) A corporate political action committee, as that term is
defined by subdivision (8) of this section;

(B) A membership organization, as that term is defined by
subdivision(18) of this section;

(C) An unaffiliated political action committee, as that term
is defined by subdivision (29) of this section.

(20)(22) “Political committee” means any candidate committee,
political action committee or political party committee.

(21)(23) “Political party” means a political party as that
term is defined by section eight, article one of this chapter or
any committee established, financed, maintained or controlled by
the party, including any subsidiary, branch or local unit thereof
and including national or regional affiliates of the party.

(22)(24) “Political party committee” means a committee
established by a political party or political party caucus for the
purposes of engaging in the influencing of the election, nomination
or defeat of a candidate in any election.

(23)(25) “Political purposes” means supporting or opposing the
nomination, election or defeat of one or more candidates or the
passage or defeat of a ballot issue, supporting the retirement of
the debt of a candidate or political committee or the
administration or activities of an established political party or
an organization which has declared itself a political party and
determining the advisability of becoming a candidate under the
precandidacy financing provisions of this chapter.

(24)(26) “Targeted to the relevant electorate” means a
communication which refers to a clearly identified candidate for
statewide office or the Legislature and which can be received by
one hundred forty thousand or more individuals in the state in the
case of a candidacy for statewide office, eight thousand two
hundred twenty or more individuals in the district in the case of
a candidacy for the State Senate and two thousand four hundred ten
or more individuals in the district in the case of a candidacy for
the House of Delegates.

(25)(27) “Two-year election cycle” means the twenty-four month
period that begins the day after a general election and ends on the
day of the subsequent general election.

(26)(28) “Unaffiliated political action committee” means a
political action committee that is not affiliated with a
corporation or a membership organization.

§3-8-5a. Information required in financial statement.

(a) Each financial statement required by the provisions of
this article, other than a disclosure of electioneering
communications pursuant to section two-b of this article, shall
contain only the following information: (1) The name, residence and mailing address and telephone
number of each candidate, financial agent, treasurer or person and
the name, address and telephone number of each association,
organization or committee filing a financial statement. (2) The balance of cash and any other sum of money on hand at
the beginning and the end of the period covered by the financial
statement. (3) The name of any person making a contribution and the
amount of the contribution. If the total contributions of any one
person in any one election cycle amount to more than $250, the
residence and mailing address of the contributor and, if the
contributor is an individual, his or her major business affiliation
and occupation. shall also be reported. A contribution totaling
more than $50 of currency of the United States or currency of any
foreign country by any one contributor is prohibited and a
violation of section five-d of this article. The statement on which
contributions are required to be reported by this subdivision may
not distinguish between contributions made by individuals and
contributions made by partnerships, firms, associations,
committees, organizations or groups. (4) The total amount of contributions received during the
period covered by the financial statement. (5) The name, residence and mailing address of any individual
or the name and mailing address of each lending institution making
a loan or of the spouse cosigning a loan, as appropriate, the
amount of any loan received, the date and terms of the loan,
including the interest and repayment schedule and a copy of the
loan agreement. (6) The name, residence and mailing address of any individual
or the name and mailing address of each partnership, firm,
association, committee, organization or group having previously
made or cosigned a loan for which payment is made or a balance is
outstanding at the end of the period, together with the amount of
repayment on the loan made during the period and the balance at the
end of the period. (7) The total outstanding balance of all loans at the end of
the period. (8) The name, residence and mailing address of any person to
whom each expenditure was made or liability incurred, including
expenditures made on behalf of a candidate or political committee
that otherwise are not made directly by the candidate or political
committee, together with the amount and purpose of each expenditure
or liability incurred and the date of each transaction. (9) The total expenditure for the nomination, election or
defeat of a candidate or any person supporting, aiding or opposing
the nomination, election or defeat of anya candidate in whose
behalf an expenditure was made or a contribution was given for the
primary or other election. (10) The total amount of expenditures made during the period
covered by the financial statement. (b) Any unexpended balance at the time of making the financial
statements herein provided for shall be properly accounted for in
that financial statement and shall appear as a beginning balance in
the next financial statement. (c) Each financial statement required by this section shall
contain a separate section setting forth the following information
for each fund-raising event held during the period covered by the
financial statement: (1) The type of event, date held and address and name, if any,
of the place where the event was held. (2) All of the information required by subdivision (3),
subsection (a) of this section. (3) The total of all moneys received at the fund-raising
event. (4) The expenditures incident to the fund-raising event. (5) The net receipts of the fund-raising event. (d) When any lump sum payment is made to anyan advertising
agency or other disbursing person who does not file a report of
detailed accounts and verified financial statements as required in
this section, such lump sum expenditures shall be accounted for in
the same manner as provided for herein. (e) Any contribution or expenditure made by or on behalf of a
candidate for public office to any otheranother candidate or
committee for a candidate for anya public office in the same
election shall be accounted for in accordance with the provisions
of this section. (f) No person may make any contribution except from his, her
or its own funds unless such person discloses in writing to the
person required to report under this section the name, residence,
mailing address, major business affiliation and occupation of the
person whichwho furnished the funds to the contributor. All such
disclosures shall be included in the statement required by this
section. (g) Any firm, association, committee or fund permitted by
section eight of this article to be a political committee shall
disclose on the financial statement its corporate or other
affiliation. (h) No contribution may be made, directly or indirectly, in a
fictitious name, anonymously or by one person through an agent,
relative or other person so as to conceal the identity of the
source of the contribution or in any other manner so as to effect
concealment of the contributor's identity. (i) No person may accept anya contribution for the purpose of
influencing the nomination, election or defeat of a candidate or
for the passage or defeat of anya ballot issue unless the identity
of the donor and the amount of the contribution is known and
reported. (j) When anya person receives an anonymous contribution which
cannot be returned because the donor cannot be identified, that
contribution shall be donated to the General Revenue Fund of the
state. AnyAn anonymous contribution shall be recorded as such on
the candidate's financial statement but may not be expended for
election expenses. At the time of filing, the financial statement
shall include a statement of distribution of anonymous
contributions which total amount shall equal the total of all
anonymous contributions received during the period. (k) Any membership organization which raises funds for
political purposes by payroll deduction, assessing them as part of
its membership dues or as a separate assessment, may report the
amount raised as follows: (1) If the portion of dues or assessments designated for
political purposes equals twenty-five dollars$25 or less per
member over the course of a calendar year, the total amount raised
for political purposes through membership dues or assessments
during the period is reported by showing the amount required to be
paid by each member and the number of members. (2) If the total payroll deduction for political purposes of
each participating member equals $25 or less over the course of a
calendar or fiscal year, as specified by the organization, the
organization shall report the total amount received for political
purposes through payroll deductions during the reporting period
and, to the maximum extent possible, the amount of each yearly
payroll deduction contribution level and the number of members
contributing at each such specified level. The membership
organization shall maintain records of the name and yearly payroll
deduction amounts of each participating member. (3) If any member contributes to the membership organization
through individual voluntary contributions by means other than
payroll deduction, membership dues, or assessments as provided in
this subsection, the reporting requirements of subdivision (3),
subsection (a) of this section shall apply. Funds raised for
political purposes must be segregated from the funds for other
purposes and listed in its report. (l) Notwithstanding the provisions of section five of this
article or of the provisions of this section to the contrary, an
alternative reporting procedure may be followed by a political
party committee in filing financial reports for fund-raising events
if the total profit does not exceed $5,000 per year. A political
party committee may report gross receipts for the sale of food,
beverages, services, novelty items, raffle tickets or memorabilia
except that any receipt of more than $50 from an individual or
organization shall be reported as a contribution. A political party
committee using this alternative method of reporting shall report: (i)(1) The name of the committee; (ii)(2) The type of fund-raising activity undertaken; (iii)(3) The location where the activity occurred; (iv)(4) The date of the fundraiser; (v)(5) The name of any individual who contributed more than
$50 worth of items to be sold; (vi)(6) The name and amount received from any person or
organization purchasing more than $50 worth of food, beverages,
services, novelty items, raffle tickets or memorabilia; (vii)(7) The gross receipts of the fundraiser; and (viii)(8) The date, amount, purpose and name and address of
each person or organization from whom items with a fair market
value of more than $50 were purchased for resale.

If any person, not herein authorized so to do, enters or
attempts to enter the election room, except upon a lawful errand
and for a proper purpose, or remains within three hundred feet of
the outside entrance to the building housing the polling place,
contrary to the provisions of this chapter, hethe person shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction thereof, shall be fined
not less than $50 nor more than $500, or confined in the county
jail for not more than thirty days.

Excepting those individuals provided for expressly in this or
other sections of the code, only full-time employees of the
Secretary of State's office or full-time employees of the
respective county offices of the county clerk or the county
prosecutor, or persons under contract with the Secretary of State
to provide technical assistance to election officials or
international observers who have registered as such and been
approved by the Secretary of State may enter or otherwise disturb
the polling place.

CHAPTER 8. MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS.

ARTICLE 5. ELECTION, APPOINTMENT, QUALIFICATION AND COMPENSATION
OF OFFICERS; GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO OFFICERS
AND EMPLOYEES; ELECTIONS AND PETITIONS GENERALLY;
CONFLICT OF INTEREST.

§8-5-14. Municipal executive committees; election expenses;
applicability of state primary and general election
laws; election days and hours; notice.

(a) Except as otherwise provided by charter provision or
ordinance or this code, municipal executive committees shall
exercise similar functions and be governed by the same laws in
regard to municipal primary elections and regular municipal
elections as county executive committees in regard to county-state
primary and general elections, so far as the same may be
applicable.

(b) All expenses of conducting municipal primary elections and
regular municipal elections shall be paid by the municipality.

(c) The provisions of chapter three of this code, referring
more particularly to primary elections and general elections,
shall, so far as the same can be applied and so far as not
otherwise provided by charter provision or ordinance, govern the
conduct of municipal primary elections and regular municipal
elections, as the case may be.

(d) No municipal primary election shall be held on the day of
the county-state primary election except as provided in section
five of this article nor less than twenty-five days immediately
preceding the regular municipal election unless a shorter period of
time is established by charter or ordinance.

(e) A municipality may, by charter provision or ordinance, set
times for the polls to be open on election day which differ from
the times provided in section thirty-one, article one, chapter
three of this code so long as the municipal election officials
provide written notice of the different hours through publication
in a qualified newspaper in the manner set out in section ten,
article five, chapter three of this code, not less than twenty-five
days prior to the election day.

(a) The rates which a publisher or proprietor of a qualified
newspaper in West Virginia may charge and receive for a single or
first publication of any legal advertisement set solid depends on
the bona fide circulation of the newspaper, as follows:

(1) Four cents7¢ per word if the qualified newspaper has a
bona fide circulation of less than one thousand, except as provided
in subdivision (1), subsection (a) of this section;

(2) 11 1/2 ¢ 14 1/2¢ per word if the qualified newspaper has
a bona fide circulation of one thousand to five thousand;

(3) Nine cents12¢ per word if the qualified newspaper has a
bona fide circulation of more than five thousand but less than ten
thousand;

(4) Ten cents13¢ per word if the qualified newspaper has a
bona fide circulation of more than ten thousand and less than
thirty thousand; or

(5) Eleven cents14¢ per word if the qualified newspaper has
a bona fide circulation of thirty thousand or more. Provided, That
on the first day of July in the year two thousand three and on the
first day of July in the year two thousand four and on the first
day of July in the year two thousand five the allowable rate per
word in each of the classifications of qualified newspapers with
reference to circulation as set forth in this subsection shall, for
each classification, increase one cent per word over the prior
year's rate.

(b) In computing the number of words in a legal advertisement,
not set solid, the basis is the size of type in which legal
advertising is set by the qualified newspaper making the
publication and shall beis computed at the legal rate as though
the matter were solid type, that is to say, on the basis of eighty-four words to the single column inch in six point type and fifty-four words to the single column inch in eight point type and any
other size type in proportion.

(c) In determining the cost of a legal advertisement which is
to appear more than once in the same qualified newspaper, the cost
for the first publication shall beis computed as specified in
subsections (a) and (b) of this section and the cost of the second
and each subsequent publication shall beis seventy-five percent of
the cost of the first publication computed as specified in
subsections (a) and (b) of this section.

(d) The average bona fide circulation stated by each qualified
newspaper in the statement filed by the newspaper with the United
States post office department in October of each year shall control
the rate of circulation classification of the qualified newspaper
for the period commencing the first day of July of each year until
the last day of June of the following year. On or before NovemberMarch 1 of each year, the publisher or proprietor of each newspaper
desiring to publish any legal advertisement during the ensuing one
year time period commencing July 1, shall file with the Secretary
of State an affidavit stating the average bona fide circulation of
the newspaper as listed in the statement of Ownership, Management,
and Circulation filed by the newspaper with the United States
Postal Service in October of each yearduring the preceding twelve
month time period ending the thirtieth day of September of each
year and shall set forth sufficient facts in the affidavit to show
whether the newspaper is a qualified newspaper. The average bona
fide circulation stated in the affidavit by each qualified
newspaper shall controlcontrols the rate circulation
classification for the ensuing twelve-month period commencing July
1. Any qualified newspaper for which the required affidavit is not
filed on or before the day of March of any calendar year shall bewhich does not file the required affidavit on or before March 1 of
any calendar year is conclusively presumed to have a bona fide
circulation of less than one thousand for the ensuing twelve-month
period commencing July 1.of such year a bona fide circulation of
less than one thousand. At the time a publisher or proprietor of
a qualified newspaper files an affidavit with the Secretary of
State, as required by this subsection,At the same time as filing
the affidavit with the Secretary of State, the publisher or
proprietor shall also notify the clerk of the county commission and
the board of education of the county in which the qualified
newspaper is published of the circulation classification of the
qualified newspaper and of theand applicable rate for publishing
legal advertisements in the qualified newspaper during the ensuing
twelve-month period commencing July 1. If the qualified newspaper
is published in a municipality, the publisher or proprietor shall
at the same time also furnish the same notification to the clerk or
recorder of the municipality.

(e) The rate charged for political advertising appearing in a
newspaper at any time or times during the time period commencing
thirty days prior to any primary or general election and ending the
day following the election may not exceed one hundred five percent
of the lowest commercial rate charged by the newspaper in which the
political advertising appears.

(f) Nothing contained in this section prohibits qualified
newspapers from charging less than the specified rates for any
legal advertisement or from charging usual and customary rates for
notarizing and producing additional copies of the affidavits and
statements required in section four of this article.